Worlds Apart
by chrstn86nike
Summary: Beings states away can seem like being worlds apart. Two friends in love get they're wish granted, but at what price?... And by who? See the time space witch throw them into they're very own story and see how much trouble they get into.
1. Incoming!

Heheh. I know it's been a while since I had a story so I decided to send in this one! It's been 2 or 3 years since I worte most of this so sorry if my writing seems crapped up. I put this under xXx HoLiC because I got the idea from that, traveling from world to world, meeting new people.

But the two people you're about to read about are real, though our- uh- they're names have been changed. Everything about us during that time is all real the scars, personality querks, and our relationship (that's a whole different story), including a not so random voice in a young man's head. How is that possible without being insane? You may never find out...

* * *

With a sigh a young girl held the phone tightly in her hands after she had hung up. Walking to the kitchen to place the phone on the charger she wore a special smile thinking about the conversation she had just seconds before. She always wore that smile whenever she spoke with him, the boy she had become close friends with.

Only at the age of eighteen she stood 5' 5", the average height for a Korean American, though it was hard to tell she had any Asian in her at all. The only way you could differentiate her from any regular American was her natural year long tan and the slight way he eyes angled. Her chocolate brown hair, cut short to the shoulder and parted on the left side, she had gotten from her father. It wasn't thick as she would have wanted it but she was thankful she wasn't as bad as some others. Her eyes were as dark as her hair, the windows to her soul that were clouded so much with feelings of mistrust that no one was able to see through them. Black framed glasses outlined her eyes, giving off the look she liked, the look no one could describe.

Wearing her favorite Caffeine brand loose jeans with a tear in the left knee told everyone that knew that brand could tell she occasionally shopped in Hot Topic, a Goth lover. Her long sleeve maroon and blue stripped shirt with white collar and 63 on the back clearly stated she was a tomboy, seeing how it was a boy's shirt. Her glasses had finished her "look", giving off a sense that she was an artist both of word and picture. This was her. The name she was christened with, Crystal Ann White.

Sighing again Crystal walked up to her room, quickly regretting what she had to tell her friend, Keith Ryan Farrel. She was telling the truth when she had said she would need at least 8 hours of sleep that night for the following day, but she still wanted to talk to him during the night and throughout the wee hours of the morning. He had understood and insisted she get a good night's sleep for her health's sake. Smiling, she had agreed as long as he did the same.

Going to her room, Crystal quickly dressed into her Hello Kitty pajama pants and a plain gray t-shirt. Sitting down on her bed she set the alarm to the normal 5 o'clock in the morning and laid under the covers for warmth after turning out her light. Her eyes began to droop as she began to feel her hard day catching up to her. Turning her head to the right, she faced her desk that was facing the wall. Even though it was too dark to see she knew two pictures of Keith were hanging over her desk in plain sight. It made her sad to think that even after the long hours she would spend talking with him and the many months she had known him she has never met him face to face. The fact he lived in Arkansas and her in Ohio didn't help matters much. It seemed hopeless when the plan for Keith to spend the weekend at her house was shattered by the society's collar on man kind; work.

With a yawn Crystal turned over falling asleep just before a thought ran through her mind, _I won't give up hope as long as there's hope to hold onto. _

Laying on his bed, Keith continued to stare at his cell phone as he held it above him. He had just hung up after a lengthy conversation with Crystal, the promise he had given her still hung over her head.

She had explained that she had a hard day planned the next day and needed the rest of the night to rest, making him promise to do the same. Being a man of his word Keith stood up, setting aside his cell phone to pull his blue shirt over his head.

Standing at an impressive 6' 2" for a 19 year old, he was built to be a football player, guarded by 255 lbs of muscle. His face was covered by three scars; one just under his chin, preventing any facial hair to grow. Just under his right eye was a small horizontal scar as well as one above it that goes under the ridge of the eyebrow and turned upward through the edge of his eyebrow making it look like as though an eyebrow piercing had been and was ripped out and left to heal. His hair, a dark brown in color like his eyes, looked as through it had not seen a comb in several days, giving him more of a rugged look.

Taking off his pants, throwing it where he had placed his shirt, long scar on his right shin. Lying back down on his bed with nothing but his boxers, Keith placed his arm under his head, sighing to himself. He had felt slightly upset with himself, hearing disappoint in Crystal's voice as they talked about the upcoming anime convention. She had decided not to go because of the fact he was not able to, no matter how much he had insisted she enjoy herself. She had argued that going by herself would be no fun and ended the issue there.

"It's not my fault," he had said to himself. He knew Crystal had tried her best not to make him feel guilty about not meeting her but the feeling managed to seep through anyway. Turning over on his stomach, he closed his eyes to hear a voice in the back of his mind, nagging. _Shut up Gabriel_… he thought before finally falling asleep.

Tokyo, Japan

In the mass of large buildings of the great city stood a traditional Japanese house on the last piece of property that hadn't been unearthed. It was the last of it's kind, dwarfed by the forest of apartments and office buildings. In the backyard was a small glass table and held in place by the glass was an umbrella.

Sitting under it's protection was Yuko Ichihara, a tall thin woman with pale skin resembling the full moon and red eyes like rubies. Her eyes openly expressed years of knowledge and wisdom, though her face showed no sign of any aging. Yuko was clearly someone of unusual quality, sitting there sipping her tea with a sly smile she always wore, as though she knew a secret that was too obvious not to notice. Her thin, raven black hair was allowed to flow over the kimono she wore, easily reaching past her waist. Rose patterns decorated her kimono and was held by a large sash and tied into a large bow covering her stomach. Though her kimono was tied together it hung loose over her shoulders, shamelessly exposing too much cleavage and the top black lace of her bra.

As the sky rained down on the earth Yuko continued to sit outside as though patiently waiting for the rain to stop. Though standing next to her was a young man twirling a tray in his hands impatiently. His name was Kimihiro Watanuki

Still in his school uniform, Watanuki stood with a natural tenseness that never left him. His slightly mussed raven hair hung over his light blue eyes, which was unusual for an Asian. Over his eyes he wore wire framed glasses that easily gave him a look of maturity. Though he stood slightly shorter that Yuko he was still an impressive height for his age and still had some growing to do. At that moment he wore a frown as he looked into the sky, which was not an unusual thing for him as he's always seen angry or frowning unless his crush, Himawari Kunogi, was on his mind or with him.

To Yuko, Watanuki was everything but a slave to her. Offered to get rid of his curse of seeing spirits he had agreed, only to realize later that he was tricked into working for Yuko in order to pay off the cost of her services. Now he stood by her side, his eyes constantly moving from Yuko to the sky. The last time it had rained like this they had unexpected visitors, at least they were unexpected for him.

Standing behind him were two girls who seemed to be the age of ten, Yuko's first assistants. The girl to the left had hair tied in pigtails on each side of her head, long enough to touch the ground. She wore a long sleeved black and white dress that reached her knees, on the small of her were small dragon-like wings. Unless you looked for them, you could hardly tell they were there. Next to her was a very similar version of herself. A girl wearing a short sleeved long white dress stood in the exact opposite pose as her sister. Her hair was cut shirt with two small buns tied near the top of her head. On her dress were small white angel wings.

Wearing energetic smiles as girls their age should, they stood waiting like their mistress. Looking at them you would never tell they were soulless, children with only one purpose: to serve their mistress. They were Maru and Moro.

A lightning bolt flashed through the air making Yuko smile more widely, whispering to herself, "Here he comes…" Watanuki looked at Yuko then back towards the sky just as the it began to drip. Above the buildings a large bump formed in the air and grew larger like a drop of water hanging off a needle point. As the formation touched the ground it broke apart to reveal a young man with long black trench coat reaching down to his ankles. Under his coat he wore a black shirt that express the contours of his chest and straight black jeans, on his feet were new black boots, and his waist was a sheathed katanna. Opening his eyes, the young man looked around to see where he was, confusion clear on his face, his eyes quickly flashing a emerald green as they scanned the area around him.

Yuko stood and walked from under the umbrella and into the rain stepping closer to the man that had appeared in her yard. Instinctively he reached down for his blade, though he knew he would never use it against a female, hoping she would know not to take another step if she was indeed a foe.

Stopping in front of him, not caring that is was raining or that fact her kimono was open for all to see, she smiled at him and in a low, sweet voice spoke, "Hello Keith. I am Yuko Ichihara, and I welcome you to the world of anime."

Time for Keith stopped. "Yuko?" he asked uncertainly, as though he was not sure he had heard correctly. "As in Yuko-san from xxx HOLiC?"

Yuko gave a slightly nod to confirm his thoughts. "You know who I am, so you must know what I do."

"You grant wishes."

"And you are here to have a wish granted to you… at a price of course."

Behind her, standing under the umbrella Watanuki made a face of discontent, whispering loudly, "There she goes again, being a pushy salesman."

"Pushy salesman!" repeated Maru and Moro happily, as they always did.

Smirking with slight annoyance, Yuko turned her head to look at the boy from the corner of her eye. "We can _hear _you, you know." She had spoken through her teeth, irritated by Watanuki's new habit of speaking just loud enough to be heard by her customers. Turning back Yuko saw a serious look in Keith's eyes and for an instant, so fast you never thought it was there, she swore she saw them change to gray.

"I don't have a wish for you to grant, none that you can grant." He spoke slowly, choosing his words with great care.

"You know, a wish shared can be the greatest wish of all?" Speaking as though Keith had not, Yuko continued, looking into his eyes as though cutting into his soul. "Do you not wish to see with your eyes instead of your imagination? Hold a heart in your arms, even for just a second?" Suddenly her voice went to a low whisper and had it not been for his sensitive ears he would not have heard her say, "Do you not wish to have her here with you?"

Eyes gone wide, the name of the girl he had just spoken to just minutes before had come to mind: Crystal. Opening his mouth to speak, he was interrupted as he tried to say one word. Yuko's hand was held up, her face pointed to the raining sky.

"Here she comes now…"

Again, a lump appeared in the sky, lowering down until it touched the soft grass just to the right of Keith. Breaking apart, the piece of sky that had dripped down revealed a young girl hidden under a black, hooded sweatshirt that looked three sizes too large for her. Below that she wore average blue jeans, emphasizing the length of her legs. On her feet were black and white converse shoes. Though what was interesting about her was that on the back of her hoodie was a silver independent symbol.

Opening her eyes, Crystal looked around, unsure of her surroundings. They seemed too familiar. Eyes widening, she did a double take. There she stood staring at the young man from the picture on her bedroom wall.

"Keith?" she asked, feelings of nervousness, anxiety, and hope mixed into her voice.

Keith, unable to speak, smiled softly and took a step towards her only to be stopped by Yuko, who had stepped up and placed her arm between the two. She knew these two had feelings for the other but she need to have business finished first.

Seeing Yuko surprised Crystal to say the least. Taking a step back she looked at the house behind her and realized where she was. "Yuko…san? What's going on, this can't be real."

Taking her arm back, Yuko acknowledged them both. "You both had a wish, to be here with each other. Because the both of you wanted it with your hearts the wish is ten times more powerful." She had paused to see no surprise on our faces at the fact we wished this to be so. "But because the wish is so great this is only half of what the wish brings. It has brought you together, yes, but there is more to come."

"What is it?" Keith asked, speaking for both him and Crystal.

"I cannot tell you, you need to trust your hearts and decide whether to pay for this wish."

Taking a look towards each other, Keith and Crystal took little time to think. They've always wanted this, they weren't going to let this chance slip through their fingers.

"What's the price?" asked Crystal, amazed at how strong and sure her own voice was. She was, though, slightly nervous. She knew that Yuko's prices only matched her wishes but by the way she spoke of theirs…

Extending her hand, Maru, holding a gold feathered pen, and Moro, holding a sheet of parchment looking several years old, walked up to Yuko. After giving her the items they remained standing behind her, waiting patiently.

"Your names." She said, so suddenly Crystal jumped slightly, Keith blinked in surprise. "Your price is your names."

"Excuse me?" asked Keith, sounding as though he had heard pigs were flying above his head.

"You heard me correctly. Your names you will give to me in exchange for names I will give you." She held out the paper and released it, only to have it remain floating before them and extended the pen at them. "All you must do is sign."

It took all of Keith's willpower not to snatch the pen from Yuko's hand. Taking one look at Crystal, he signed his full name on the sheet, his signature shone bright red before disappearing.

As the letters disappeared all of his memories about his name disappeared along with them. He looked up at Yuko, nervousness in his eyes. For all he was worth he could not think of his name!

Taking the pen from his hand, Yuko gave her usual smile. Still standing behind the rest, Watanuki looked on, a worried look on his face. He did not like the look on Keith's face until finally he understood. He was Keith no more, had given his identity to Yuko.

"Thank you… Akira." He heard Yuko say to him.

Akira. It echoed in Keith's thoughts, somehow knowing that was his new name. Looking up he saw Crystal take the pen from Yuko. He watched as she wrote down her name and had the same thing happen to her. A small voice in the back of his mind screamed at him to stop her, but in his heart he knew that would be an impossible deed.

"Akira and Kiyoko," said Yuko. "No longer do your old names hold against you, no longer do they make any difference." Now having a look of seriousness, Yuko having taken the pen and paper, looked at them for several seconds, until she spoke with a voice a great solemnity. "You will only be able to return home when you have granted your own wish, with the assistance of others such as myself. When you are able to do this, you will be sent home as though nothing has happened and you will have earned back your true names."

Before any questions could be asked a circle surrounded each of them. Too surprised to move Bryan and Christine stared down at their own circles. Hearing a yell, Keith looked up to see Crystal's circle become a wall of green, surrounding her.

"Kiyoko!" He yelled, surprised at himself for calling her that because he knew in the back of his memory that was not her real name. As he began to take a step to help her his own circle grew into a wall around him and engulfed him a dome. Both domes began to grow smaller as they pulled themselves back into the ground, pulling Crystal and Keithalong with them.

Yuko remained standing in the rain, staring at the two spots the young couple had been standing. In a soft whisper, she had to herself, "I wish you the best and luck… you will need it."

* * *

So whatcha think?! Think I did good staying OC? Knowing Yuko she would ask for something like that... Tell me what you think! 


	2. Love and War

Chapter two... okay I don't have much to ay about this...

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Okinawa, Japan

A young woman, by the looks of only twelve years old, stood in the middle of a massive room of her creation. Her long, thick red hair, when standing, would just touch the floor if let loose completely. That days she was wearing the dress she had worn back when she worked at the Galactic Academy Research Facility. She had purposely altered his look to make it seem as though she were a child, but those who knew her also knew that she was over twenty thousand years old. She was a super genius of the galaxy, if not the universe. Her name was Washu Hakubi.

Floating in front of her was a transparent laptop, which had caught her attention just seconds before. Pressing a button, Washu made the laptop disappear in an instant and started to walk across the vast space that was her lab. Stopping in front of a door, she squinted her eyes in suspicion. This was the room that had kept all of her "useless and unneeded" experiments, or in other words they were her failures. Placing her hand on a panel beside the door, she stood as the door slid open to reveal countless of machines and mechas that were not able to work. The reason she stood among her countless disappointments was that her computer had said one of them was activated.

After walking under several large cords and machine pieces she reached an object that looked to have been a regular door. Standing seven feet high and four feet wide, it looked like a regular hinged door, only it stood erect without the help of a pedestal. On the door knob she had inserted a small light to indicate whether or not the door was in use and now it shone brightly.

Putting a hand to her chin, Washu walked around the door, front and back, to examine it more closely. The door in particular was very odd to her because she did not know what it was for. It was true she had made it with her hands but the memory of it was a haze. Something had compelled her to make this door for one purpose or another. In her eyes the completion was a success, but it never worked. Until now.

Now standing in front of the door, Washu began to reach for the doorknob but stopped when it had turned on its own. Her eyes widen slightly as she stepped back, allowing the door to open by itself. The bright light that emitted from the opened doorway made Washu shield her eyes. As her eyes adjusted slightly she saw two silhouettes walking out of the doorway just as the door closed behind them.

In the enormous room the only sound that was able to be heard was a soft dripping. Dripping? As Washu's eyes finally adjusted she saw a young man in all black and a girl in black and blue, both of them were soaked to the bone.

"Well, what do we have here?" Washu asked haughtily, placing his hands on her hips.

Kiyoko looked at Washu, they were near eye level because she had slouched over slightly and her arms crossed in front of her, shivering from the cold. "W-we promise to explain e-everything later. But can we first go someplace w-warm?"

Looking both of them over once Washu decided they looked trustworthy enough. She walked behind them and placed a hand on each of their backs and pushed them, leading them to the main house.

Within an hour both Kiyoko and Akira were sitting on the Masaki's couch sipping tea. Akira had exchanged his wet clothes for Tenchi's work clothes, who was the son of the owner of the house. Though Tenchi was slightly shorter then the young man, the clothes had fit him perfectly, but Tenchi was not a small man. Standing six feet tall and having naturally spike jet black hair, Tenchi was a fairly muscular man after many vigorous training sessions and many battles. Being a prince of Jurai had helped give him his power slightly, but his training with his grandfather, the real prince of Jurai, was most important of all.

Kiyoko was wearing a long sleeved stripped dress, a favorite to the space pirate Ryoko. Standing as tall as Tenchi, Ryoko was the infamous space pirate of the universe, not only for her deadly past but for her beauty as well. Though she was very slim, she had great speed and power, her long hair an unusual gray-blue color. Her demon eyes always seemed to glow a bright yellow like a cat's. The most odd thing about her were her ears, reaching out several inches like an elf in an Earthling's storybook. On each ear, as well as on her wrists, were small, round gems. Like her, Washu had made the gems, Ryoko's main source of power. Now she lived on Earth, trying to live a clean life.

Even knowing this, the young girl constantly glanced at the looming Ryoko, who watched her from a sitting position in midair. Standing around the new visitors was Washu, Tenchi, Ryoko, and the two Jurai princesses, Ayeka and Sasami.

Although they were sisters, they hardly looked alike. Ayeka had taken the image of her father, the king of Jurai. Ayeka wore her haired layered, beneath the first layer were two separate plaits that nearly touched the ground when she walked, which had been Jurai tradition. Its dark purple color easily matching her eyes. She looked to be about 19, but was really over 1,000 years old. A regal atmosphere surrounded her, belittling anyone who looked at her.

Sasami, who had taken the image of the second queen of Jurai, had more of a friendly, childish appearance than her sister did. Her light blue hair, she wore in long pigtails that, like her sister's, nearly touched the floor. Her eyes shone a soft pink glow, but her looks, too, belied about her age. Though she looked only 10, she was indeed over 700 years. Now she stood with a worried look on her young face from the tension in the room.

Ryoko growled with frustration and landed both feet on the ground in front of the guests that Washu had demanded they be taken care of. She didn't like the feeling she had gotten from the two, or the looks of the weapon the young man carried. "All right, I've had enough!" She shouted at the two. They neither flinched nor moved away, which upset her even more. "Who are you and why are you here?!"

"Ryoko!" scolded Sasami. She looked to the offended and bowed in apology. "I'm sorry for Ryoko's rudeness," she said, solemnly.

Kiyoko smiled sweetly at Sasami as she stood up again. "It's alright Lady Sasami. Our names are Kiyoko and Akira, and truthfully… I don't know why we are here."

"We came from a… different world, for a lack of better words." Spoke up Akira. He hesitated before continuing, deciding to withhold certain information. He was not sure how they would react or even believe him, and by the looks of Ryoko, she would use any excuse to attack them. "We met a woman who said we had to complete something by finding help from others. Except we're not exactly sure what."

"Was this woman from your world or a different one from yours?" asked Washu. She seemed interested in Akira and Kiyoko, but when it came to Washu, it could have meant a number of things.

"Different. In Yuko-san's world, the woman we met, we only stayed for maybe less then an hour. We've obviously stayed longer here, so I'm not sure how long we'll be here"

"It doesn't help that you don't know why you're here, either," stated Ayeka.

"Too many possibilities," whispered Washu. She placed her hands behind her back and began to pace. "I need more solid information to make out anything." She stopped pacing and faced the two on the couch with fervor. "What did this –Yuko-san did you call her? - tell you, exactly, about finding help?"

"She said, 'with the assistance of others such as myself'," quoted Kiyoko.

"'Others'…could be referring to us," muttered Washu, continuing her pacing on the living room floor. "Or it can mean more then one other world. But just in case, I'll keep my alarm on my door and move it up here in case it activates again. I have a feeling you'll be needing it again. As for the thing you need to complete, I'm guessing you would know when it comes. At least that's what Yuko is expecting. And I have one more question."

She glanced at them from the corner of her eyes to see them nodding for her to go on. "How did you know Sasami's name?"

An eerie silence went over the room. No one had noticed Kiyoko call Sasami by name but the fact she knew it caused suspicion in everyone. Kiyoko lowered her head, a sudden urge to hit herself came over her but she quickly ignored it. She refused to raise her head to see the look of everyone around her, including Akira.

"In our world, almost everyone knows you," said Akira quickly, not only to convince them but to also stop Kiyoko's embarrassment. "We also knew about Yuko-san's world as well."

"Which can mean you may go to more worlds that you know of. How is it you know of our worlds?" snapped Washu.

"People… write… about them," responded Akira, nervously. What would they say if he were to tell them they knew about the world of Tenchi Muyo because of comics?! "It's not like history, it's more like stories and about what happened in your lives," he explained.

"That sounds reasonable to me," said a foreign voice.

Everyone's eyes moved to the door that connected the living room to the entrance hall. Standing in the doorway was a tall, old man wearing a traditional red and white hakama. His long, gray hair he wore in a loose ponytail. Though his hair was a sign he was very old, he stood with strength and stature that showed everyone who he was: the prince of Jurai.

"Yosho!" exclaimed Ayeka. She had not expected her brother to be back for another few hours and was very surprised at his sudden appearance.

"Grandfather," said Tenchi. He made a step towards his him but he was stopped when Yosho held up a hand.

"I have heard everything that was told and I must say I give my approval for the two. I do realize that they have things they haven't told us," he looked at Akira and Kiyoko, then, and smiled when Kiyoko turned a faint pink, "but then almost everyone has secrets or stories they wish to share later, or never if they feel it is necessary."

"Wait a second!" shouted Ryoko. Akira and Kiyoko turned to look at where the voice had come from and were surprised they hadn't notice that she moved to the top of the large TV that took up most of the living room wall. "They just show up out of the blue and give us that weak story and you say it's just fine?!"

Yosho gave a slight nod, not looking at Ryoko but at Washu. "They can stay as long as they need to, if you believe that's alright?"

Washu gave a slight smile and looked at Akira and Kiyoko. Under her stare they seemed to sit up straighter, wishing her approval most of all. "Yes, I believe their story."

Yosho smiled as well and turned towards Sasami, speaking in a kind voice, "My dear Sasami, would you be so kind as to show our guests to the guestroom?" He then turned to Akira and Kiyoko and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry to say we only have one spare room. Do you mind if you share it?"

Akira and Kiyoko blinked in surprise, taking at look at each other in turn and back at Yosho shaking their heads. Muttering under their breath that it was just fine.

After taking their empty cups, Sasami lead them upstairs and to the guestroom. She had helped them get two futons and placed them next to each other in the middle of the room. The only other thing that took any space in the room was a vanity with a long mirror on the opposite wall from the door.

"I'm really sorry that you have to share a room like this but recently Mihoshi had crashed into the house and she has to sleep with Ryoko until we have her bedroom finished," stated Sasami. She stood mainly in the doorway to let them roam the room on their own.

"I feel sorry for Mihoshi," whispered Akira from the side of his mouth. Kiyoko lightly tapped his elbow and he smiled at her before giving her a wink.

As Sasami turned Kiyoko walked behind her and placed a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder. "Are you going to cook dinner now?" She asked, kindly.

"Yes, I want to get started so I can make you two a special welcome dinner."

"Can I help you?"

Sasami looked taken aback. "But you're the guest," she reasoned.

Kiyoko smiled at Sasami's reaction and stood in mock seriousness. "Well, I refuse to let my Lady work for someone who refuses to do any work. I insist on helping you, Lady Sasami. If it won't be cooking then it will be cleaning."

The girl giggled in turn and nodded in agreement. She looked up at the older girl with one eye closed and pointed at her.

"I'll let you help me cook, but you have to call me Sasami from now on."

Kiyoko laughed at this childish behavior and nodded in return. As Sasami left she turned to Akira and smiled sweetly, which was returned.

"I hope you don't mind me working with Sasami in the kitchen," Kiyoko said, a smile still on her lips.

"No, it's okay. I want look for Yosho and talk to him anyways," Akira said lightly.

She kissed his cheek, having to stand on her toes to do so, and walked towards the door after the little princess. As she was about to take the last step outside of the room she stopped, making Akira raise an eyebrow in curiosity.

His eyes widened in concern when he saw her face as she turned to face him. She was wearing a soft smile, but sadness filled her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said slowly, her voice was filled with sadness and regret. "I know this isn't anything like how we wanted to first meet and I'm sorry for that. I feel as if it's my fault, but maybe that's because I'm just being silly. But I just want you to know… I'm glad you're here with me."

Before he was able to respond, she turned and all but ran towards the kitchen, leaving Akira with only a blank stare.

Running his fingers through his hair, Akira thought about what Kiyoko had said, the sad look in her eyes lingering in his mind. He did agree she was only being silly for blaming herself for all this, but then he knew it can it would be hard for anyone to make her think differently.

Letting out a sigh, Akira walked out of the room, sliding the rice paper door closed behind him. The thought of needing to talk to someone crossed his mind and he turned to towards the stairs, hoping against everything that Ryoko wouldn't be the one he would find.

Making his way towards the stairs, he continued to stare at his feet until he made it to last, looking up to see Yosho sitting on the couch in the living room. The older man turned and smiled at him as though he had been waiting for him.

"Lord Yosho," Akira began, only to be interrupted, "Please call me Katsuhito. Come. Sit down," said Yosho, motioning to the place beside him.

Without saying a word, Akira did what he was told. He looked at the older man only to see him looking at the TV in front of him and did the same. He saw his reflection on the blank screen and Yosho's beside his. He saw on the other man's face he saw a look of consideration and stayed quiet and was startled when he finally spoke.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you seen distressed about something."

Akira looked surprise that he was able to tell how he was feeling, even when he wasn't looking at him. He looked at Yosho from the corner of his eye to see him continuing his stare at the blank screen and quickly looked away.

"You can say that," responded Akira softly. "It's just this whole mess. I don't understand half of what's going on and then there's Kiyoko…" he trailed off, leaving the subject hanging.

"Did you know her before all of this happened?"

"Yes, in a way," Akira said cautiously. "We've known each other for a while, but only at a distance. We've never actually met face to face."

"From different worlds?"

Akira looked at floor dolefully and thought of the answer before saying it. "You can say that."

"Half the things we expect or hope to happen hardly ever do," said Yosho suddenly. Akira openly looked at him, surprised at the change of subject and how easily his troubles were able to be perceived.

Without looking once at the boy, Yosho continued, "You can only leave happenings to fate and work through your obstacles from there."

Akira looked at his hand as he thought about Yosho's wise words and how it related to his current problem. It was true the two of them wanted to meet on different circumstance, but it didn't change the fact they were actually together.

When Akira remained silent, Yosho stood up, brushing off imaginary dust from his robes. "If you'll excuse me, I must return to my temple."

Akira stood seconds after in reaction.

"Sir, if I may ask, why did you leave your temple before hours?"

Again, Yosho did not look at Akira and smiled softly as he responding; "Because I had a feeling pulling me to the house and it seems you and your friend were the cause. But I must now return and I hope to see you at the temple in the future." After giving a slight bow, Yosho turned and walked to the entrance hall.

Akira stood in the place Yosho had left him even though he had left minutes before until her heard a crash in the kitchen. Running to the kitchen he found Sasami in Kiyoko's arms with her hand cut. From the look of the cut and the broken plate on the floor, it was apparent the plate she was holding must have had a broken off and was dropped when it broke her skin.

Taking Sasami to the sink, Kiyoko turned on the cold water and placed Sasami's cut hand under the water current. When she heard Akira enter the room she smiled at him and nodded to the broken plate on the floor.

"Do you mind that up while I take care of her cut?" she asked softly.

Nodding, Akira looked around and easily found a hand brush and dustpan hanging off small hooks in the corner. Taking them down, Akira quickly knelt over the broken pieces and brushed them into the pan. When he looked up he saw Sasami's hand in a bandage, her eyes close to tears, but not because of the pain.

"It's alright, Sasami-chan. We all have accidents one time or another," reassured Kiyoko, but her words did not calm the girl.

"But I caused you and Akira-san trouble," Sasami said sadly.

"It was no trouble at all," he spoke up. He walked to the trashcan and emptied the dustpan before bending on one knee making him eye level with her. "Princess, if anyone should worry about causing trouble it is us, arriving out of thin air only to have you supply all that we need. If we help think of it as us repaying you for your kindness."

Sasami nodded, wiping away unshed tears and then smiled brightly. "Kiyoko-chan was right, you are a wonderful person."

Hearing this, Akira looked up and raised an eyebrow in question only to see Kiyoko blush a light pink.

"We'd better finish dinner, Sasami-chan," Kiyoko said quickly. Still blushing, she turned to one of the pots and carried on what she had been doing before the incident.

"I almost forgot!" exclaimed Sasami. She looked up at Akira as he stood up and placed the brush and pan in their place. "Akira-san, do you mind setting out the dishes for dinner?"

"No, I don't mind at all," he said with a smile. He was directed to a pile of plates, rice dishes, and utensils and was soon forgotten as the girls continued their cooking.

Walking from kitchen to the dinning area, which was only separated by the living room by the having the space raised half a foot above the floor level, he quietly set each place evenly, but when he had finished setting down the plates he had noticed there was one some places missing. Yosho, he had assumed, would eat at the temple, but what of Mihoshi? He remembered Sasami saying something about her, but where was she? On call for the Galaxy Police, maybe.

"Dinner's ready!" called Sasami, interrupting his thoughts. He looked down to realize he had finished without remembering.

One of the doors from upstairs opened, yelling able to be heard from the occupants downstairs.

"Get your hands off of him, demon woman!"

"As soon as you make me, princess!"

Behind the dinning table the door that originally lead to the closet opened, letting out Washu from her lab. As the yelling continued she glanced up to where Tenchi's room would be located and didn't say anything as she walked to her place at the table.

Just then Tenchi turned from the stairs with Ryoko floating beside him, arm in arm. Ayeka occupied the other, both women glaring at each other.

Eyes widening, Akira came to the realization that someone was standing next to him. Looking to his side he saw Kiyoko smiling up at him. He looked back at the scene the three were making and looked back at her and smiled in return. Touching his arm gently, Kiyoko turned to help Sasami set dinner. Knowing not to interfere with ladies' work, he sat at the seat in the middle of the right side.

Known to neither Kiyoko or Akira, Washu had watched their little exchange with a small smile. Narrowing her eyes, she thought of something she would have to do as Akira took the seat to her left. Before she could think anything else the food was finished being set and everyone had taken their seats. Tenchi remained at the head of the table, with Ayeka sitting to his right beside Akira and Ryoko sat at his left.

Kiyoko, though wanting to sit by Akira, reluctantly sat next to Ryoko when Sasami had taken the place in front of Washu. For once Ryoko didn't flirt with Tenchi, but turned her gaze at the girl next to her, making Kiyoko hunch her shoulders and look at her hands in her lap.

Akira narrowed his eyes at Ryoko in defense, wanting the space pirate to stop making his companion uncomfortable. _If she wasn't a woman I'd_… But the fact was, Ryoko was a woman and his morals wouldn't let him do a thing about it.

Everyone stayed in uncomfortable silence as Sasami passed out the rice. When everyone was served a sudden realization came to pass.

"What the hell is this stuff?" asked Ryoko as she looked over the contents of the table. Half the food was neither Japanese or anything outside of this world.

"Some mouth you have there, demon," muttered Ayeka, behind her hand.

Ryoko immediately stood up, flames visible in her eyes. "Then why don't you tell us what this stuff is?" Everyone around the two had not said a word, knowing it had to end some time.

"Don't insult my sister's cooking like that!" Ayeka screamed back.

"But I didn't cook this," said Sasami in a meek voice. Everyone but Kiyoko looked at Sasami with curious stares. "Kiyoko-chan did. She said it was Korean."

"Korea?" asked Tenchi. "You mean the countries west of Japan?"

"Countries?" asked Ryoko and Ayeka at the same time, which in turn made the other glare in hatred.

"Yes, Korea was split from north and south because of a dispute concerning communism years back. So now Korea is known as North and South Korea," explained Kiyoko, only to get glared at by Ryoko, which was just as bad as getting punched in the head.

"I heard they have good food over there," stated Tenchi. Hearing this Ryoko sat back down in her place, but looked at the food in reluctance. Smiling Tenchi looked up at Kiyoko, despite Ryoko's temper. "I assume you cooked all the Korean food?"

Kiyoko blushed faintly, which had surprised her, and nodded meekly. Smiling even brighter, Tenchi took a pair of chop sticks and picked up a piece of meat from one of the plates. Washu, Sasami, Ryoko, Ayeka, and Kiyoko watched his reaction as he popped it into his mouth and munched on it. Though Akira tried to look indifferent, his eyes were watching Tenchi's face for a reaction to Kiyoko's food.

"It.. It's great!" he exclaimed and he began to fill his plate with more.

Smiling happily, Kiyoko watched as everyone took some of her food was taken by everyone, including Ryoko. Not wanting to get left out, she filled her plate and started to eat, thanking the compliments and blushing as each of them were given.

As the meal ended Ayeka, Ryoko, and Washu made their final comments on dinner and went their separate way, which did not surprise Kiyoko or Akira in the least.

"I wash, you dry?" asked Kiyoko to Akira as they began to collect the dishes from the table. He nodded in agreement and was about to take his pile of dishes to the kitchen when Tenchi stopped him.

"You're our guests, let us do the dishes," said Tenchi, extending his hands to take the plates.

"But guests are invited, we weren't," Kiyoko said as she walked around Tenchi. "Besides, we want to." Akira glared at the look Tenchi was giving Kiyoko, not a look of hate or anger but of something… else.

Tenchi's smile faltered as Akira made his way past him. He scratched his head, wondering what he had done to upset him. When Kiyoko came back for the rest of the dishes, she found Sasami and Tenchi cleaning off the table. Smiling, she took the remainder of the dishes from Tenchi. Somehow she knew it would be useless to argue the point with them.

Walking back to the kitchen, she saw Akira, his eyes looking past the dishes in deep thought.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked as she walked to his side at the sink.

"Oh," he said in surprise, he hadn't realized he was back. He smiled down at her, the thought of their height difference crossed his mind. "Nothing important."

Kiyoko nodded slowly and started the hot water to fill the dish filled sink. If she had learned anything about him, she had learned he was too stubborn to argue with. It didn't change the fact she was slightly concerned about him.

_Maybe Michelle was right, I do worry too much, _she though to herself. Then the name echoed in her mind, making her stop all movement. She had no memory who Michelle was, but she had a nagging feeling she had to know who she was.

When she had paused, Akira looked up from what he was doing to look at her only to see a look of confusion on Kiyoko's face.

"What's the matter?" he asked softly. Even in a low voice he had startled her. He looked up at him and smiled, but he had seen the look of sadness in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I guess I started daydreaming," she said as she turned back to the dishes.

"Kiyoko…san," Akira said, still in a quiet voice. "Is there something that's bothering you?"

"Just things, I guess," she said, not facing him. "I can't remember half the things I should. I thought of a person, but I don't know _who _it is."

Akira looked down, not knowing exactly what to say. He knew he was more than likely going through the same thing. They had forgotten nearly everything about themselves when they paid Yuko's price.

"But it should be alright," Kiyoko said, with a happier voice, smiling brightly at him. "I know it's true that we forgot our real names and everything about us, but I remember how much I care about you. And I know I'll make through this as long as I have you with me."

Akira was clearly touched by Kiyoko's words and smiled softly as he looked at her smiling face. "I feel the same about you, Kiyoko-chan," he said, in a whisper. With that, they went back and finished the dishes in a comfortable silence.

Unknown to either of them, a small robotic insect was crawling on the ceiling above them and from her lab, Washu heard every word they spoke.

Just as Washu was about to instruct the bug to return when Ryoko came through the ceiling and floated down to her. After quickly shutting down her laptop, Washu turned towards her own creation.

"Washu, why are you letting this happen?" yelled Ryoko as she made it to the lower level, but still hovering off the ground.

"Letting what happen?" asked Washu innocently.

"Those two just barged into the house out of nowhere and suddenly they're living off of us. They might be up to something!"

"They didn't want to come here in the first place. Also, has it ever occurred to you that they are trying their best to repay Tenchi-dono and Katsuhito-dono for letting them stay here? Tenchi-dono seems to trust them, as well as Katsuhito-dono."

"That's the thing, Tenchi likes her too much!" growled Ryoko. She had her hands opened in front of her as though she was imagining herself strangle Kiyoko.

Washu just rolled her eyes and walked over to a stand a few feet away. On top of that stand was a small black machine. Ryoko had seen it once, but was not sure why Washu had it out again, until a thought came to her.

"You don't think they are…" she started, but the look Washu gave her stopped the sentence from being finished.

"It would have activated by now if they were," Washu said, seriously. "But I do have a feeling they aren't what they seem."

"Want me to take them down?" asked Ryoko, with a sinister smile. The next sound that was heard was a thump as Washu hit Ryoko over the head with a small hammer.

"I don't mean like that!" cried Washu, exasperatedly. She looked straight up, looking at the place where Akira and Kiyoko would be sleeping.

"I don't think they're human… and I'm not even sure they're aware of it," she had said in such a quiet whisper, even Ryoko couldn't hear her.

In the morning, before even the sun had time to rise into the sky, Kiyoko laid awake. She was not in her own futon, but, instead, Akira's.

Sleeping in a new bed was never any fun for Kiyoko and she happily accepted Akira's offer to sleep with him. They had fallen asleep with his arms around her and that's what she woke up to.

She looked up to see him still fast asleep. Moving, slightly, she blushed as her leg touched bare skin. Neither of them had clothes to sleep in, leaving the options of going to bed fully clothed or hardly. Kiyoko had managed to keep her red shirt that was worn under the hoodie and was kept dry so she could use it as a nightshirt, though it barely covered passed her hips.

Attempting to move out of the futon, she found she had only one way to move her legs; against Akira's. As she pulled her legs out, they rubbed along his, making him sigh in his sleep and pull her closer.

Biting down on her bottom lip, she managed to pull her legs out of the blanket. The only problem she faced now was to move his arms off of her. Gently, yet firmly, she moved his arms enough for her to slip out.

He began to murmur as he felt nothing in his arms and silenced when she put her pillow where she had been. When he fell quiet again, she moved to where she had placed her folded dress. She smiled when she saw her clothes, washed, dried, and folded by Sasami next to the vanity, along side Akira's.

_I need to thank her for that_, she thought as she pulled on her pants and socks. She blinked once when she saw a black object move when she had lifted her hoodie. She moved Akira's clothes slightly to see his sheathed katanna coming out from under the vanity. Not taking much notice, she stood up and ran her fingers through her hair like a comb thinking of what she had to do.

Washu had left a note on Kiyoko's futon wishing to see her early that morning. The thing that pulled her attention was that Washu had requested Akira not know about the meeting. With Washu, Kiyoko wasn't sure if it was a good thing Akira shouldn't have been told or not. Deciding to go against her better judgment, she didn't tell him, and now that it was morning she quietly made her way into the hall and to the stairs. It was rather dark because it was still so early, but she was able to get down the stairs and to Washu's lab.

When she opened the door, the crab bell on the inside of the door startled her. Sighing, she chastised herself for getting so forgetful and walked from the door as it disappeared. Walking to the center of the brightly lit area, she looked around to see no sign of Washu expect for the floating pillow she usually sat on.

"Maybe I'm too early?" she asked herself.

"You're right one time," said Washu from behind her.

Kiyoko gave a yelp in surprise and turned to look at the super genius. She watches as Washu walked around her, hardly even noticing her surprise and sat on the pillow as her laptop appeared from thin air.

"Do you know why I asked you here?" she asked in a friendly voice.

"I have a guess," Kiyoko replied as she walked beside Washu. "You want to run tests on me, analyze me, like you did with everyone living in this house."

"That's right, " she said with a wink.

"But why not tell Akira-kun about it? I mean, don't you want to do the same to him?"

"To tell the truth you both don't have my complete trust and I want him to be tested without a notice before hand. But I do know you didn't tell him of this meeting, and I appreciate it."

"I understand considering the circumstances," said Kiyoko with a shrug. "Just tell me what to do so we can get this over with."

"With pleasure!" Washu cried out, excitedly.

Suddenly a metal ring landed around Kiyoko's temple. The small light bulbs glowed brightly as the wire that connected the laptop to the ring transmitted information.

"5' 4 ¾" tall exactly… permanent injury to your right ankle…" Washu muttered as she read off Kiyoko's physical information. She unexpectedly gave a sly smile. "Not a very impressive bust size, I see."

With that Kiyoko formed a fist and knocked Washu on the back of the head. Washu covered the bump that was now forming where she was it and looked up with tears in her eyes.

Kiyoko crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Washu in the eyes. "Oh, stop faking it, I can see right through it."

In a flash, the tears and sad eyes disappeared as Washu turned back to her laptop.

"Oh, fine," she said, dejectedly. "You're done." The metal ring was the pulled off of her head by an invisible force.

"That's it?" she asked surprised.

Washu only looked at her from a side angle and nodded once. "There's some more information, but it will take a few hours to process."

"Oh… well, I'll go help with breakfast, then."

"Sasami should be awake and up by now," said Washu, her attitude changing, yet again, to an excited child.

"What about Akira-kun?" asked Kiyoko as she started towards where the door was and looked back.

"Don't worry about him, I'll take care of him," Washu responded happily,

Kiyoko nodded and walked away as the door reappeared. She had not said a word, but she knew Washu was holding back something. Looking back one last time to see Washu continuing her work on her laptop, she turned and walked through the door.

"Where is she?" Akira thought out loud, is voice ringing with worry.

He had just woken up as the sun began to shine through the one window in the room, to find a pillow in his arms. Tossing the pillow aside he looked around to see if there had been any changes. His eyes landed on the vanity. Just below it laid his clothes, folded and clean, besides Kiyoko's folded sweatshirt and his katanna. He noticed her pants were gone and wondered where she had went.

Quickly pulling on his shirt and pants, leaving his coat, socks and katanna behind, he ran to the door of the room as he did the buckle to his belt. As he opened the door he missed a step, nearly falling into the railing that stopped anyone from falling off the platform of the upstairs, to avoid stepping on Ryo-oh-ki, the small creature that looked as though it was mixed with a rabbit and cat.

Sighing deeply from the near accident, Akira turned and looked down at Ryo-oh-ki with a frown. Then he noticed a note in the cabit's mouth and picked it up when it was dropped at his bare feet.

Akira, please come down to the lab.

I must see you immediately. Do not

worry about Kiyoko, I have seen her

and she is in the kitchen. -Washu

When he looked away from the note he saw Ryo-ho-ki bound off and disappear from sight as she went down the stairs.

Before going to Washu, he wanted to talk to Kiyoko. Maybe it was because she wanted to help make breakfast, but it seemed too early to be awake, even for that. And how did Washu know she was there unless something happened?

Tucking in his shirt, Akira made his way down the stairs. As he walked by Washu's door he heard female voices talking coming from the kitchen.

As he was about to take a step towards the kitchen the door to the lab burst open and a small hand reached out from the shadows and grabbed his arm. Just as he was about to pull away the arm pulled him inside, surprising him enough that he gave out an involuntary yell. As the door shut behind him, Sasami's face came into view through the kitchen door and looked around to see nothing, shrugged and went back to Kiyoko.

Taking back his arm, looking down at Washu, the one who had dragged him in. HIM! The one no one could physically force to do anything, the guy most people feared because of his size and strength. Yet this small woman had managed to pull him, almost off of his feet, to where she wanted him to be.

Smiling, Washu looked up at him from one eyes, playfully, "You didn't come straight here like I asked you to."

"I… I needed to talk to Kiyoko-chan," he said, defending himself. "I haven't seen her this morning and I thought something was wrong."

"I said not to worry, I talked with her."

"Oh yeah, I had the right to worry," muttered Akira under his breath, with no sarcasm intended.

Washu gave him a defiant stare as though contemplating the best way to cause him pain. She pointed over towards the floating pillow and sighed.

"Just get over there so we can get this done," she said, in a low growl.

_Now I know where Ryoko gets it from_, he thought to himself as he did what he was told. Turning around he saw Washu sit on the pillow and bring out her laptop, different screens hopping up around her with different information.

"I'm going to analyze you to get some data on you," she explained, "I already did it to Kiyoko and she seemed to understand the process, so you must also." When he nodded once she continued. "I want to compare you two and see if there's anything in your systems, what makes you tick."

"We're humans, Washu-san, the same as Tenchi-san," Akira said with a sneer.

Washu noticed this and raised an eyebrow at him only to have him look away. She smiled and the same metal ring came down on his head and extracted the information she sought. As the information began to load on the screens in front of her, all she had said was, "Interesting."

"What's interesting?" That was what Akira wanted to say, but he had only gotten half said before the metal ring was pulled off his head.

When he looked to see the ring disappear, Washu walked up to him and wrapped her arm around his. "Come on, everyone must be at breakfast by now." She didn't give him a chance to answer as she half dragged him to the door.

_How is she doing this? _As though reading his thoughts, Washu looked back and smiled at him.

"Try not to think of me like Ryoko just because I'm pulling you around like this," she said cheerfully.

He blinked once as he was pulled through the door and to the dinning area. He saw that everyone had been served, including him and Washu, and seated in the places they sat in the night before.

Ayeka, Tenchi, and Ryoko looked up from their meals when they arrived, but didn't say nothing more then a good morning. Sasami and Kiyoko didn't even notice their arrival, as they were deep in conversation.

Walking to his place, Akira sat to a plate of fried eggs, vegetables cooked in soy sauce, and sweet dumplings covered in sugar. Beside his plate was a small bowl of rice. He was happy to find that all of his food was still warm.

He looked across the table and watched Kiyoko, who was talking with Ayeka. Not in the same tone she used with Sasami, but with respect Ayeka deserved. Slowly eating his food, his thoughts clouded his mind so much that he had not heard Tenchi's question.

"Akira-san?" Tenchi asked slightly louder.

Akira jumped slightly, finally pulling his eyes away from Kiyoko and focused them at Tenchi. "What?"

"I asked you if you wanted to visit the temple with me," said Tenchi with a small smile. "I have to go and clean the temple grounds and I know grandpa said he would like to see you up there."

Kiyoko, overhearing their conversation, chewed on the end of her chopsticks as she watched for Akira's answer.

Akira looked at Kiyoko to see her watching him as he thought about his answer. He wanted to stay and talk with her, but Yosho had given him invitation to visit the temple. Though going with Tenchi was the last thing he wanted. True, Tenchi was one of his favorite characters, but the way he looked at Kiyoko was too friendly for Akira's tastes.

"I'll go," he said rather reluctantly.

Tenchi nodded and looked at Kiyoko, smiling more brightly. "Would you like to come with us? I can show you around while Akira-san is with grandpa."

Ayeka, Ryoko, and Akira choked on their food at the same time.

Akira looked up in time to see Kiyoko blush lightly. "I see no problem with that, unless Sasami-chan needs my help here," she said quietly.

"Go ahead," Sasami said, smiling. "I'll be able to handle the chores, you go have fun."

Fun. Akira nearly growled at the thought of Tenchi and Kiyoko together, much less having fun with each other. By the looks on Ayeka and Ryoko's faces, they were thinking the same thing.

Kiyoko didn't touch the remainder of her food, her appetite was lost as the princess and pirate stared her down. _I didn't want this_, she screamed in her head. She looked up to see Akira practically seething with anger. She gulped silently, picking up her plate and walking towards the kitchen with her head held low.

Akira watched her leave the table and looked at Tenchi to see him watching her as well. He narrowed his eyes and clutched his fists under the table until they hurt. _If he dares to go near her while I'm with her, he'll be six feet under, prince or no prince,_ he thought fiercely.

Almost an hour later, Akira and Kiyoko were in the entrance hall, Kiyoko putting on her shoes, Akira, his boots.

They had went to their room and had gotten their socks as well as his coat and her hoodie. Just as Kiyoko had left the room, Akira sneaked over to the vanity and picked up his katanna and hid it under his coat before following her. He knew she would try to stop him from bringing it if she had learned of his intentions.

When they finished putting on their footwear they stood by the door, waiting for Tenchi. Just then yelling was heard from upstairs, it was Ryoko. Not a big surprise to anyone.

"Tenchi, how come I can't go?" she whined.

"Because Washu said she needed you, besides I don't want you making Kiyoko-chan more uncomfortable then she already is!" This made both Kiyoko and Akira blink in surprise. Tenchi had just yelled in anger.

"She's the reason why I want to come! I won't let her dig her claws into you!"

Kiyoko looked down at her fingernails, which were cut at all times, and examined them, even though she knew fully well Ryoko was being sarcastic. Beside her, Akira finally let out a low growl under his breath. Ryoko's behavior against Kiyoko was getting on his last nerves.

As Tenchi walked down the stairs, in a new pair of work clothes, Ryoko flew after him. "Tenchi, listen to me!" she cried.

Tenchi, then, spun on his heel making Ryoko screech to a stop in midair, almost unable to stop herself. He neither flinched or moved away when her nose touched his from the sudden stop.

"Ryoko, I asked you to stay. So please respect my wishes and don't leave the house. I've already talked to Ayeka, and she said she won't follow. Now, you promise."

Ryoko moved away slowly, looking over his head to see Akira and Kiyoko watching. "Fine," she muttered before flying up through the ceiling.

"Ryoko!" he called. Tenchi didn't want her to be mad at him, but he didn't know what else to say to make her stop following him.

"Tenchi-san?" This was Kiyoko, in a small whisper, just loud enough for him to hear. He turned around and looked at her, staring at her straight in the eyes. "Let her cool off first before you do any apologizing or explaining."

Nodding with a smile, Tenchi hurried to put on his boots and opened the door to let them out. When all three of them were outside, Tenchi lead them to the left of the house where the trail up the mountain was.

Tenchi had attempted to walk beside Kiyoko as they walked up the stairs on the mountainside, but Akira had stepped between them. Very protectively, he wrapped his right arm around her waist and held her close to his side. He was careful when he did this, trying to prevent her from finding the sword in his coat.

Looking up at him, Kiyoko wondered what was making Akira so protective. There was no danger that she knew of and the only person that was there… Tenchi?! Shaking her head mentally, erasing that option.

She leaned her head against his shoulder, an indication that she was not worried about anything, not in his arms. She felt his hand on her waist squeeze slightly as though he did not mean to let her go.

Back in the lab, a small screen popped up in front of Washu as she worked on her laptop, the image of Tenchi, Akira, and Kiyoko walking up the side of the mountain. Pressing several buttons the view went closer until it was only Kiyoko and Akira. Around her were several small screens, data flashing and beeping, but he eyes only watched the scene in front of her. Suddenly the screen that was compiling their data began to flash. Taking her eyes away from the two, Washu looked at the information, her eyes going wide as she read off what they really were.

When they finally arrived at the top of the staircase they found Yosho standing on the front stairs of the temple. With Akira's arm still wrapped around, Kiyoko placed her hands in front of her and gave a small bow. Following her example, Akira bowed along with her and finally moved his arm when Yosho walked to where they stood, but not before returning their bow.

Without saying a word, Yosho pointed to the side of the wall on the temple. The three of them looked at what he was pointing to and heard Tenchi sigh heavily as they saw a broom leaning against the wall. Without looking at neither Akira or Kiyoko, Tenchi walked over to the broom and began his temple chores.

"Let's leave him to his work, shall we?" asked Yosho.

Nodding in agreement, Akira followed the prince with Kiyoko following him. _So much for spending time with Kiyoko,_ he thought with a smirk as they followed Yosho into the temple.

Taking off their shoes, they walked through the entrance way and was lead into a large room that had matted floors and a high ceiling.

"The training room," whispered Akira as he looked around. On the far side of the room, in clear view, were three katanna placed neatly on a rack. Beside that was another rack that held three unsheathed katanna, of different sizes, behind a glass case. Above those two, on a small shelf, was what looked to be the hilt of a sword.

"Sword Tenchi," whisper Kiyoko in awe.

Yosho gave a small smiles as he nodded in acknowledgment. "Yes, it is. The sword only the blood relatives of the emperor may use. But that is not why I have brought you here."

"Why did you bring us here, might I ask?" inquired Akira.

Yosho's eyes move across Kiyoko before they landed on Akira. "I've seen your katanna." Akira tensed at this, wondering if the old man had known about the sword in his coat. "I know you have the knowledge to use, if not, master it." Akira refused to relax, unsure what the old man actually knew about the whereabouts of said weapon until he said, "You may take it out of your coat."

Kiyoko looked at Akira, his expressions were calm as though he knew Yosho was going to ask him for him, and he pulled the sword from its hiding place. Before she was able to say a word, Yosho spoke up, speaking her thoughts.

"Why did you bring here, to a temple, of all places?"

Akira held his katanna in both hands and looked down at it. "It was not because I was about to visit the temple that I brought this. I felt… slightly threatened for Kiyoko." His bold words surprised him, as though he was able to lie to the old man.

Kiyoko, in turn, had a look of surprise on her face. He had brought his sword because he thought she was bring threatened? By what?

Yosho looked closely at Akira then at his sword. By the expression on his face, it seemed he knew why Akira had brought the sword, the threat that was on the temple grounds at that very moment.

Expecting him to at least comment on what he knew, Akira was surprised when Yosho gave him an order.

"Take out your sword," he said in a commanding tone. Akira unsheathed his sword in one fluid motion and held to it in front of him. From behind, Kiyoko's eyes gave a slightly sparkle as she watched him, only Yosho was able to notice. He blinked when Yosho spoke again, "Put it away." He looked at Kiyoko as though asking her what he had done wrong, and slide the sword back in its sheath.

"You know the basics at least, but you can be better with the proper training." Akira looked up to see Yosho smiling at him. "If you want, I can teach you and Tenchi both at the same time. I would say you're both on the same level when it comes to katanna wielding. We would start tomorrow and train you during your stay."

The look on Akira's face resembled a child in a free candy shop. "I would be greatly honored, Katsuhito-dono!" he said excitedly.

Yosho, then, turned to look at Kiyoko. "And you? By the way you stand and looked at the way Akira worked his sword I can tell you've been taught to fight."

"That's the only thing I was taught, years ago," responded Kiyoko, but her voice had changed slightly, a vague memory passed through her mind and she ignored the pain behind her head. "I never was given the opportunity to own a sword, much less train with one."

"A weaponless fighter may be the most dangerous opponent when it comes down to it," Yosho said, just loud enough for the other two to hear.

Unexpectedly, Yosho ran behind Kiyoko and linked her arms in hi, enabling her to move. Before Akira was able to out his hand on the hilt of his katanna, Kiyoko's left leg kicked up, her shin hitting Yosho in the middle of his face. Standing in shock, Akira watched Yosho fall backwards, blood oozing out of his nose. Standing on both feet again, Kiyoko turned and looked down at Yosho in fearful shock.

"I didn't know you could do that," breathed Akira. He walked up to her side and placed an arm around her shoulders when he saw her face.

"I…I didn't mean to," she whispered. "It was a reaction, I couldn't stop it."

Before Akira was able to comfort her, Yosho sat up, his nose still bleeding. Touching his nose, he did not seem surprised when he saw his own blood.

"More dangerous than a man with a sword," Yosho muttered to himself.

Akira and Kiyoko glanced at each other, not knowing exactly what to say. They jumped, Akira releasing Kiyoko's shoulders, in surprise when Yosho shot up to his feet.

"That was impressive, Kiyoko-san," he stated, as though nothing happened. "Akira-san, I expect you here before dawn. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Both visitors watched Yosho as he left the room and couldn't help but laugh when they heard him from the hall, yelling, "She broke my nose!"

"He deserved it for doing what he did," said Akira, between laughs. His laughs died, however, when he saw the guilty look on her face. "Don't worry," he said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders again. "He realizes that it was his fault. That's why he didn't get upset." At this, Kiyoko smiled brightly, his words visibly comforting her.

"I'll just have to remember never to sneak up on you like that," he said, touching the end of his nose. They both laughed, making their way out of the temple only to see Tenchi waiting for them outside.

Akira's arm that was never moved from Kiyoko's shoulder pulled her closer at the sight of the prince. Tenchi seemed to notice this but still smiled at Kiyoko.

"Can I talk to you, Kiyoko?" Tenchi asked, politely. Though he didn't say another word, they knew he meant he wanted to talk privately.

Akira was about to say something, before he realized Tenchi had called her by her name with the lack of a honorific. He began to get upset and released Kiyoko's shoulders as he took a step towards the other man.

"Becoming a little familiar, aren't you, Tenchi-SAN?" he asked, barely above a whisper.

Tenchi blinked, thinking about what he was talking about. "Oh!" he said a few seconds later. "I'm sorry, Kiyoko…chan."

That still didn't seem to satisfy Akira. "And if you have anything to say to her, you can say it in front of me."

Tenchi nodded once and stepped around Akira and stood in front of Kiyoko. "Kiyoko-chan, my grandpa didn't give you a hard time, did he?" When she shook her head no, she hadn't expected the next question from Tenchi's lips. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Akira's eyes went wide and he turned around to see Kiyoko glancing his way, but say in a small tone, "No one's asked me yet."

"Then would you honor me with dinner on Sunday? Alone?"

She looked once at Akira for assistance, but he only stood there in the background, visibly trying not to say a word. She turned back at Tenchi and gulped silently before answering, "Yes."

Tenchi smiled brightly and entangled his left arm with her right, leading her to the stairs that led back to the house. Looking back once, Kiyoko looked at Akira with desperation. He smiled reassuringly not her before she turned back to walk down the stairs. Only after did she look away did he frown with distaste.

Oh, how he wanted to get Tenchi. He hadn't even had a date with her yet! And he knew from far longer then that prince has! As he followed after them, he grumbled at how Tenchi was practically throwing himself at her.

_Calm down_, a voice in his head spoke up. For anyone else, the voice would have been cause for panic, but for Akira, it was a natural thing. _Consider what she is. It's the Korean respect that made her say yes_.

How did the voice know Kiyoko was Korean? Wait… she's Korean? The thought slipped past his mind like an ice cube on a hot plate. It passed through as quickly as it came and he paid no mind to it.

_But he's not getting away with messing with the girl I love_, he thought to himself.

The voice answered, _How are you going to do that? _

_I'm sword training with the bastard, aren't I? _The voice did not answer, but Akira knew whomever he was talking to, knew Tenchi was a dead man.

The next few days were the most hectic the Masaki household had ever witnessed. Anger had been building between the family and the visitors. Tenchi had tried to spend as much time around Kiyoko as possible, upsetting the princess and space pirate. Akira also grew more upset as the days went by. Though Kiyoko smiled at Tenchi, he was able to see in her eyes a sadness that only came with forced politeness. He gladly took his anger out at Tenchi, every morning at the temple, with a wooden katanna. Needless to say, Tenchi was covered in bruises on the first day. By the end of the second day, he had two broken ribs. The only injuries Akira had endured were from Yosho and his training methods.

Four days after Tenchi asked Kiyoko to dinner, the house exploded. Ryoko and Ayeka finally found out about Tenchi's big date that was to happen the very next day. Tenchi was bombarded with questions and pleas until he couldn't stand it any longer.

Discouraged, the pirate was about to go confront Kiyoko when she found one very important thing; Akira never left her side that day. Whenever she tried to say a mean word to Kiyoko, Akira was closer to beating the crap out of her. Giving up, the pirate and princess went to the main part of town and stopped at a food cart. For two hours, they sat eating udon and drinking strong sake till their cheeks went red.

"This is ridiculous!" yelled Ryoko. She slammed down her cup and picked up the sake bottle, taking a healthy swing before continuing. "Tenchi's going out with that slut and we can't get to her because of that stupid jerk!"

When Ayeka remained silent, Ryoko glared at her with suspicion. "Now that I think about it, you haven't tried to say a thing to her."

"She's Sasami's friend." Ayeka said solemnly. "I've never seen her happier. I don't want to upset my sister, Ryoko. Not my sister."

Looking down at her empty bowl, Ryoko picked up her chopsticks and quickly finished off Ayeka's udon.

"Hey, that's mine!" Ayeka screamed, but before she could do anything, Ryoko was in the air.

With determination set on her face, Ryoko flew to the house, thinking of how she would be able to end the little relationship, for she was alone in this mission.

The day of Kiyoko's date arrived and Akira sat against the wall across from the vanity. Arms crossed and frowning, Akira watched as Kiyoko prepared for her date. Washu had taken one of Ryoko's dresses and had given it to her to wear because she had over heard Kiyoko say that was her favorite. Looking at the mirror, she frowned at the sight of him. Over his nose was a large white tape from when his nose was broken by Yosho's wooden katanna. At times they trained with real blades, which caused the cuts in his right shoulder and left side. His black shirt was cut on the sleeve when he had gotten his injury and simply pulled both sleeves off, allowing everyone a clear view of his wrapped shoulder. You could also tell, though he had training for only a few days, that his muscles from the waist up had improved greatly and it was visible whenever he stretched. But the bandages nor the ripped shirt bothered her, it was his frown that did.

She turned around to face him only to see his frown vanish, looking as though it was never there. That did not convince her differently. "What's wrong, Akira-kun? Is it this date?"

Akira looked down for a second and nodded once. "I don't like it, that you're going on a date with him."

"If you want, I can cancel it."

Akira admitted to himself, he had considered asking her to not go with Tenchi. He had also considered asking her to go with him instead of Tenchi, until he realized that would be acting like the princess and pirate.

"No." Kiyoko blinked, Akira's head never lifted. "Enjoy yourself, but be careful."

She stood up and placed a kiss on top of his head when he didn't look up. "Please don't be mad at me." When he finally did look up, she was gone.

He punched the floor in frustration. Now she believed he was mad at her. The truth was, he didn't look up at her because if he did, his emotions would have taken over and he would have stopped her.

When the front door opened and closed, Akira finally stood up and with arms still crossed, went downstairs. Before he was able to make the half way point, Ryoko teleported in front of him, arms crossed and looking pissed.

"I'm not in the mood, pirate," Akira grumbled as he tried to step around her, but she only moved in front of him again.

"I can tell you're pissed off as much as I am for Tenchi taking her, so why are you letting her go through with this!?" she yelled. When he only looked at her, she exploded. "I don't even know why you like her, she's nothing but a weak human! A monkey has a face better than her, and probably a better body!" Akira let his arms fall to his sides, his fists tightening on imaginary swords, and growling softly. "She's so weak, Ryo-oh-ki could even take her. I'll prove it too, when they get back!"

It happened so quickly, Ryoko never had a chance to react. Akira's hand shot to the collar of her dress and pulled her until there was barely any room between their faces.

"Touch her in any way and you'll die a nice, slow, painful death," he said in a low whisper.

Ryoko's pride was damaged when he grabbed her, she wasn't about to let him threaten her. Taking hold of his wrist, she pulled his hand away, growling with anger.

"If you protect that weakling, you must be one yourself," she snarled. "I'll do what I want to her, even if it means I have to kill her."

Akira was about to grab Ryoko by the shoulders when Washu ran from her lab and looked the stairs, about to yell something when she saw the scene in front of her. Akira in mid-attempt to grab at Ryoko, as though he was about to strangle her, and Ryoko floating in midair in front of him, about ready to attack. They both looked at her, confused looks on their faces, though they didn't move from the positions they were in.

"What?" they asked in unison.

In Washu's lab, they looked at a screen, the size of a movie theater's, to see the abandoned part of a large city.

"So what?" asked Ryoko, but her question was soon answered when something moved into their view. The silhouette of the creature looked somewhat human, except it was easily over eight feet tall and looked as though its fingertips could reach its own shin standing straight.

As Washu worked on her laptop, the lighting became clearer so that they were able to see that the creature they were looking at was an android. From head to foot the creature was covered in a strange kind of metal. Its head was the perfect shape, but faceless.

The thing began to stagger closer to the screen, a soft beeping emitted from its head. Suddenly, the screen went black.

"No!" yelled Washu. "It found the camera I sent!"

"How? That thing looks like it could trip on it's own feet, like it's more drunk then Ryoko usually gets," said Akira.

"Hey!" yelled Ryoko angrily. She was stopped short from saying anything else when Washu stuffed her hand in her face.

"I wouldn't underestimate that thing," said Washu gravely. "I recognize the construction anywhere. It was made by Dr. Clay."

"But I thought Dr. Clay was sent to prison," spoke up Ryoko.

Washu pressed a button on her notebook and the screen changed to show a woman with long black hair and matching cat ears, speaking to a microphone. It was the news.

"_I am distressed to report that the scientist, Dr. Gero Clay, has escaped from the Juraian Galaxy prison. Though his cell was on top security, he was found missing when officers made their hourly rounds. The only evidence the Galaxy Police have found was a remote control that was broken in half."_

The picture was stopped when Washu pressed another button. "That was reported yesterday. From what Mihoshi told me just a little while ago, he escaped two says before Akira-san and Kiyoko-san arrived."

"But he has only free for nine days," said Ryoko.

"With his knowledge, he could make something destructive enough to blow up a planet in five days and take four days to gift wrap it," snapped Washu. Ryoko was taken back by the seriousness in her creator's voice and didn't say anymore.

"Where is it?" asked Akira.

Washu glanced at him then at her laptop. "The outskirts of Okayama. The same city where Tenchi and Kiyoko-san are having their date."

"I'm not going," said Ryoko instantly.

"Why not?" yelled Akira, his frustration from earlier was still with him.

"That would be the perfect excuse to end that stupid date!"

"Well, I'm going."

"What?" asked Washu and Ryoko at the same time, taken aback.

"I won't let that… android ruin Kiyoko-chan's date. If you won't help, fine by me. I'll go alone."

"Take Ryo-oh-ki. She'll get you there faster," said Washu.

"Wait a second!" yelled the pirate. "She's my ship, she won't go anywhere unless I tell her to!"

"I'm going, too!" a voice cried out.

Everyone turned and saw Ayeka walk up with a determined expression.

"Traitor!" yelled Ryoko to Ayeka. "You were here the entire time and now you come out?"

The princess only looked back at her calmly. "He's right, though. Tenchi's happiness matters most, so I'll help as mush as possible," she said.

Ryoko looked shocked for a mere few seconds, as though the impact of those words hit her with the force of her own punches. She flew up above their heads, her head down low where the shadows could cover her eyes. "Fine," she said in a low whisper. "Take Ryo-oh-ki, but I'm not going!" Before anyone could say another word, she flew straight up and through the ceiling.

"Akira-san!" Ayeka said sharply, bringing him out of his thoughts. "We have no time to lose!"

Akira nodded and looked at her, his eyes turning slightly gray. "Go get Ryo-ho-ki. I'll be outside in a second."

Just as he said, it only took him a matter of seconds for him to run to his room, grab his katanna, and bolt outside. Waiting for him was Ayeka in her Jurai battle armor and the cabit transformed into her ship form.

Stepping next to the princess, Akira looked up as the spaceship shone a green light on them, pulling them into the main haul. "To Okayama, Ryo-ho-ki!" exclaimed Akira. The cabit responded by meowing once and quickly jetted her way to the run down part of the city.

Walking through the abandoned district, Akira, with Ryo-ho-ki on his shoulder, could only stare at the rubble that covered the ground. From what he had seen from Washu's camera, there were at least half a dozen rundown buildings. Now, only three stood; two adjacent to each other in front of them only fifty meters away and one about a hundred fifty meters away. Behind him, he could her Ayeka gasp silently as she witnessed the destruction around her.

Suddenly, the sound of an explosion was heard from the building to the right of them. Akira turned around and saw the second largest building that had been left come crashing down.

An abnormal gush of wind emitted from where the building stood, spreading dust and debris. The force of the wind pushed Akira back slightly, right his arm moved to cover his eyes as dust was pelted at him. In his left hand, he held his sheathed sword. When the wind and dust settled, he was able to see the android walking towards them. Stumbling, more like. Its steps were uneven and it's arms and body swayed with every step it took.

"This is supposed to be dangerous?" he head Ayeka say behind him.

"Don't underestimate it, princess!" he called back. "That's what Washu-san said."

Just then the thing jumped up with such speed, it was hard to see that it had knelt down to propel itself. It, then, fell straight down towards Akira. He had managed to move backwards before the android crashed to Earth, exactly where he had been standing. It swaggered to stand, it's knees still bent, staring at Akira. Its left hand straightened out, the edges around it becoming sharp and Akira was barely able to see the hand going for his face.

Akira wiped out his katanna from its sheath just in time to stop the fingers from entering his skull. His own blade was a mere inch from his nose and visibly shook as he tried to keep the hand from moving closer. The thought of trying of move it away from him was out of his mind, all he cared about was to keep himself alive. From out of nowhere, Ryo-oh-ki jump from his shoulder and straight towards the android's face. Extending her razor claws, the cabit managed to make slits where it's face should be, causing it to back away from Akira.

Ryo-oh-ki pulled back her paw for another swing when the android grabbed her body and threw her at one of the remaining buildings. It was only seconds before she actually made contact with the wall.

"Ryo-oh-ki!" he yelled, but turned from the cabit to see a hand in a form of a fist come for his face, hitting him between then eyes.

"Akira!" Ayeka yelled in fright as he fell back from the force. He tumbled when he landed on his back and stopped on his left knee, his right keeping balance as he touched his head, groaning in pain.

As the creature began to run towards Akira again, Ayeka folded her thumbs over her palms and held her hands together as they began to glow. Before the android could take a third step a blast of energy emitted from her hands to the creature.

Again, Akira covered his eyes as the force of the blast hit him and dust arose in the air. He let down his arms, his vision slightly blurry from the hit, but he was only able to see dust.

"I killed it!" he heard Ayeka yell happily. But just then he saw movement in the dust.

"It's still alive!" he screamed.

Before he knew it, it came for him from the dust, straightening its hands and taking jabs at him. Time after time he was able to dodge and parry every blow he received, if just barely. With each attack , Akira took a step back, only able to stay on the defense, taking blow for blow. A few times the razor sharp finger would get past him and leave nicks and cuts on his skin.

Whenever Ayeka would try to come up from behind or try to attack he would stop her, leaving her baffled. He would not let a woman get hurt because he wasn't able to fight his own battles. What baffled him was that even after Ayeka's first attack, the android continued to attack only him.

At one point in the fight the creature lunged at him, both hands ready for attacked. _I can't block both at the same time,_ he realized as he saw one hand go for his head and the other for his stomach. He managed to block the one going for his head and doubled over when the fist landed in his stomach. The next thing he knew, a foot landed in his face, sending him flying into a mountain of rubble that was once a building.

Ayeka ran to the wreckage and moved large pieces of rocks and bricks until Akira came up from underneath it all, panting heavily.

"Akira-san, I'm going to get Tenchi, you need his help," she said, fearful for his life.

"NO!" Akira yelled. Ayeka was clearly taken aback at the aggressiveness in his voice. "I will not let anyone or anything ruin Kiyoko's date, do you hear me? While we are here, or anywhere else for that matter, I will see she is as happy as possible."

"ACHOO!"

"Are you catching a cold?" asked Tenchi, a hint of worry mixed in his voice.

Tenchi and Kiyoko were at a café close to the place where they had finished their dinner, which of course was all paid for by Tenchi.

"No, it came to sudden," she responded. "I think someone may be talking about me."

"Wouldn't be surprised," Tenchi muttered at himself as the thought of Ryoko and Ayeka came to his mind.

"What?"

"I said 'let's go for a walk'," he said as he stood up. He pulled out several coin pieces and laid them down next to the now empty cups.

Taking her arm in his, Tenchi led Kiyoko towards a bridge, overseeing a large waterway that cut through the city. The entire walk she had been looking at her feet, wishing it was Akira she was with and not Tenchi. Even when this wasn't real, she would wonder what had made Ryoko and Ayeka and all the other girls so wild for him. The food and green tea were wonderful, and the view of the sunset was too, but then why did she feel so miserable?

"Kiyoko-chan?"

"Yes, Tenchi-san?" she responded, snapping out of her thoughts. The sight she saw when she looked up was not pleasing. Tenchi had stopped in front of her in the middle of the bridge. He was too close for comfort.

"I had a wonderful time," he said softly.

"Me, too," she said meekly. With that, Tenchi began to inch his way towards her. As he got an inch away from her lips, he closed his eyes, ready for the kiss. Kiyoko's eyes also closed tightly, not wanting this. In her mind she screamed, _AKIRA! _Before Tenchi's lips could touch hers, an explosion sounded in the west of the city, creating distance between them. The sound resembled a spaceship cannon, and that was not good.

As the words left his mouth, Akira knew the android was staggering towards him and Ayeka. He had finished his sentence when the android was above them, raising its hand to backhand Ayeka out of its way.

"MOVE!" Akira yelled, shoving the princess out of harm's way and into himself. The force of the blow against the side of his head knocked him over on his side several feet away. Getting to his knees, he clenched his fist to realize he didn't have his sword. Looking around, desperately, he saw the hilt sticking up from the debris pile he was just buried in.

Then the race began. Akira ran to his sword as the android ran to meet him there. He had pulled out his blade to block the slash the creature made with its hand but could not stop the foot that came for his chest, snapping the blade in half.

The blow had sent him over a hundred meters through a wall of one of the remaining buildings and came out the other side. The android, then, pointed two fingers at the base of the building, palm down. When the blast came from its hand, Ayeka had to cover her ears from the huge explosion sound it gave off. It hit the building, making all four walls come crashing down on top of Akira.

"Akira!" Ayeka screamed, flying towards him. When she landed next to the rubble she began to dig with both hands, hoping against everything that he was alive.

Just then Tenchi and Kiyoko started to run through the trees that had grown, surrounding the district. They had heard Ayeka's scream when going to check what the source of the explosion and ran faster. When they had gotten into view they saw Ayeka slowly back away from the rubble, but no Akira.

That's when they saw him.

Akira slowly raised himself from what was left of the building; the sight of him was frightening. Blood flowed in small streams over his face, around his left eye, and from deep wounds from his shoulders and back. His clothes were all but torn to pieces, hanging onto his body. He held himself like a warrior of the past ages and even his eyes had turned an emerald green.

Kiyoko cried out his name as she and Tenchi made their way towards him. He only turned his head to look at her and spoke his tone and accent both changed greatly.

"No, it's me, Crystal." That was all he said, but it made everything change in an instant.

Images, voices, and dreams she couldn't recognize ran through Kiyoko's mind. The image of a young man came into her thought, someone she had never met in person, but knew his face too well.

Throb.

A pain rushed through her brain and down her spin. She put a hand to her forehead; barely hearing Akira's changed voice call her name as a voice was connected to the image in her head. _"… remember that, alright, Crystal?" _

Throb.

The pain increased dramatically as long forgotten memories rushed into her conscious. A half dragon. Throb. A boy who fell in love with a siren. Throb. The man behind the dragon.

"G…Gabriel… K-Keith?" she whispered, softly. With that she cried out, the pain growing too intense for her to bear. Shaking uncontrollably, Kiyoko fell to he knees, holding her head in her arms, tears running down her cheeks.

"K… Keith… I'm sorry… I didn't mean t-to forget," she said, under her breath.

Tenchi heard Akira's strange voice call out the name Crystal, again. He came to realize it was Kiyoko he was referring to and turned around to see her holding her head with one hand. Before he was able to ask what the matter was she feel to her knees, holding her head between both arms. Kneeling beside her he was able to hear a soft whisper coming from her, but he wasn't able to understand.

"Kiyoko-chan, what's wrong? Please, say something," he asked, close to panic.

Akira started to quickly walk towards them, worry clear in his emerald eyes, but stopped short when he saw the android come up from his right side. Looking at the ground, he saw the two pieces of his katanna a few feet away to his left. Tumbling to his side, he picked up both pieces in each hand, not noticing the blade of the second broken half dig into his palm, as the android pivoted on its foot and chopped down at him with its left arm. Crossing the two blades, he was able to stop the blow and managed to hold the deadly hand away from his face. He only looked away when he heard Tenchi cry out, "Kiyoko!"

She had collapsed on her side and had resumed a feeble position, not responding to anything around her. Akira was not the only one who noticed her fall. Taking back its hand, the android jumped over Akira and bounded towards her.

"NO!" Akira cried out. He threw the hilt less blade at the android's back, hoping to penetrate the metal armor. Beeping once, the thing moved enough for the blade to graze the side of its face and land at Tenchi's feet.

Standing over Kiyoko, Tenchi stood in defense, but was easily defeated with one blow to the side and was knocked over. Looking down at the girl, the android took one second before kicking her in the stomach, sending her flying into the only building standing. She fell on her stomach after the impact; the only hint she was alive was her fist clenching slightly. The android made for her again but was met by Akira and they went at it, a half blade, and a robot man. Within a minute Akira was punched in the stomach and was ignored after going on one knee. It had a new goal: to kill Kiyoko.

It grabbed her throat and slammed her back against the wall, a loud cracking noise emitted from her. Akira looked up, afraid it was her back, but was not relieved when he saw it was a large crack from the wall behind her. Her eyes were closed, blood spilling from her mouth and nose, and when she was pulled away, a splatter of blood was on the wall where she made contact.

Before Akira was able to get up to stop the beast from killing her, Tenchi called out his name, though it took a few seconds for him to realize Akira was his name. Tenchi pointed between his own eyes and nodded towards the android. That's when he became aware of the fact the face was the part of its body that was ever harmed. Tenchi looked above the android and motioned downwards on top of its head. He wanted Akira to attack from above. Nodding once, to tell him he understood, Akira watched as Tenchi picked up the blade piece and run towards the metal man. When it released Kiyoko and went for Tenchi, he jumped and came down with the hilt of the blade in both hands as Tenchi moved out of the way. Looking up, the android was able to see Akira as the blade cut into its head and appear from the opposite side. Electricity surged through and over its body and it feel over, no longer moving.

"Oh, Tenchi-dono, you were so brave!" he heard Ayeka call out as went to glomp Tenchi.

Sighing at her foolishness, Akira turned and looked at Kiyoko, laying on her back; her chest wasn't moving.

Putting his ear to her chest, Akira heard a faint heartbeat. It wasn't too late to save her, but he needed to get her to Washu. Slipping his arms under her knees and around her shoulders, he lifted her with ease, but the way her body remained still frightened him. _If she dies, Keith won't be able to go on. _Thinking this, Akira looked up to see Ryo-oh-ki, who had finally come out of hiding.

"Ryo-oh-ki!" he yelled. "Change now, Crystal needs to see Washu!"

Meowing once, the cabit jumped up and changed into her spaceship mode. After boarding everyone she quickly raced off for the house, everyone praying that Washu could perform a miracle.

Sitting on the couch, Akira waited with what seemed like patience as Sasami wrapped bandages around his chest and shoulders. Everything happened so fast, no one knew what to expect. When he entered the house Washu was seen standing at the door, waiting for them, and took Kiyoko from his arms and closed the lab door behind her before he was able to step into the front door.

The questions then started. Tenchi and Ayeka both believed Akira needed a head examination. The way he was calling Kiyoko Crystal, and how nearly everything about him changed, it seemed as though he had became another person. Insisting he was fine, he sat on the couch and blacked out. Minutes later everyone, including Washu, was standing above him, with him stretched out on the couch. This time he gazed at them with brown colored eyes and more relaxed look. He had no idea how he had gotten there or what happened after he was thrown into the building.

"But Akira-san, you were ranting to Kiyoko about-" Ayeka was interrupted when Washu covered her mouth.

"Speak only of actions for now, you too, Tenchi. Right now a repeat of certain words can kill." No one understood what she was talking about, but they agreed, and the name Crystal never came up. After the summary was finished and he heard that he had brought back a near-dead Kiyoko, he glared at Washu.

"Where is she now? Shouldn't you be with her, trying to save her life?" he had demanded. All she said was that she was doing her best and that he should be worrying about himself at that moment.

Now he sat, waiting for Washu's results on how Kiyoko was doing and if she would be alright, with Sasami dressing his wounds an sitting in Tenchi's pants again. The biggest thing that disturbed him was the fact he could not remember what he did during the fight.

"Akira-san, would you like something to eat?" asked Sasami, softly as she finished.

He didn't look at her, only stared at the ceiling when he responded. "No thanks, Sasami-chan. I'm not hungry."

Not arguing the point, Sasami cleaned up everything, getting ready to set dinner. Washu had said he had several broken ribs and had somehow popped out his left shoulder and popped it back in without knowing. He knew it to be true now that the pain attacked him from all sides. He looked over the back of the couch, craning his neck to see everyone eating, everyone left. It was just Ayeka, Sasami, Tenchi, who's right hand had been wrapped from the blade wound, and even Yosho.

Then the thought hit him. Where was Ryoko? Tenchi had been home for at least an hour, safe and sound, so wasn't the pirate going to greet him? He rolled his eyes when Ayeka began insisting she hand feed Tenchi because of his lame hand. He smiled softly, thankful Kiyoko was not the same way with him. Kiyoko. His smile faltered when he thought of her. He did not remember how she was, but by the sounds of things, it was too bad for words. He began to feel guilty for not even seeing her, only hearing words from others about her health.

Akira made a decision and looked at the table to see everyone too busy fussing over the princess to give him any notice. Hissing between his teeth, he pushed himself off the couch and made his way to the door of the lab, looking once at the people at the table before he put a hand on the handle and gave a twist. He twisted it again. He looked down at the knob, his eyebrows raising. The door wouldn't open.

"Washu made it so you wouldn't be able to enter," spoke up Yosho. Tenchi and the two princesses looked at him, surprised to see him up.

"So no one else can go in?" he inquired.

"No, only you," responded Yosho, casually sipping his tea. "You see, Washu took a sample of your DNA. She knew you'd try to see Kiyoko so she made it so you couldn't open the door."

"Why can't I see her?" he yelled, ignoring the pain pulsing from his body or the gasps from the princesses.

"We're not sure, she never told us."

Growling, Akira slammed his fist into the door. She was hurt, maybe even dying, and he couldn't even see her. Pressing his back against the wall beside the door, he slid down, his knees bent in front of him, placing his arms on top of his knees.

"Akira-san?" spoke up Sasami timidly.

"I won't eat," he grunted.

"You're only being stubborn," said Ayeka smugly.

"Only she can make me eat," he muttered to himself.

_And what will she say when she sees you like this?_ said the voice in his head. Akira lowered his head so the others couldn't see his eyes, even though they had gone back to eating. _She'll see you here, starving yourself to death-_

_I'm not starving myself,_ he interjected but his growling stomach gave him away.

_Sure,_ said the voice, sarcastically. _You're just going to sit here? What about your wounds? Scars on a man's body aren't very appealing to a female, you know. _The thought of Kiyoko seeing his scarred body and leaving him frightened him. _Who knows, she may even go for Tenchi. _His eyes snapped wide open, looking straight at the back of Tenchi's head. No way he was going to allow that, but he didn't want to eat by himself either.

As though reading his thoughts, Sasami brought him a platter of red bean dumplings and a soothing cup of tea. "You can eat here and wait for her, "she said kindly.

Smiling, Akira accepted the plate and cup, giving the princess a slight bow. "Thank you, Sasami-chan." Smiling happily, she turned to the table to join the others.

This went on for two days. Akira never left that spot, except to relieve himself. Constantly people would leave in and out of that door, all but Ryoko and Washu. He had learned not to ask questions, knowing Washu told them not to answer any. Every now and then he would do exercises to keep himself fit, until the pain stopped him. He knew Kiyoko would not be proud of a flabby man. After the second day he received his clothes back from Sasami after she had mended them, as well as Kiyoko's, but she saved those for later. He constantly told himself that she was alive and he would make her proud of him. On the third day he finally saw the person who would answer all the questions.

When Washu finally left the lab, she looked exhausted. True, Sasami had taken food down to her, but she had no sleep. Akira saw this and didn't want to pester her, but he had to know.

"Washu… how is she?" he asked anxiously.

Washu looked over at him and sighed before completely turning to face him. "I'll let you see for yourself."

Refusing any help, Akira stood up and followed Washu into the lab. In the area where he was examined were two tube, seven feet in height and four feet in width. They floated slightly above the ground, carrying their contents with care. Only when he got closer, Akira was able to see Kiyoko and Ryoko both floating in a thick liquid in each tube. Not caring about the fact neither had a stitch of clothing, he ran to up the tube Kiyoko was in and looked her over, relieved to see her chest moving with steady breathing.

"There's something I want to show you," Washu said as she sat on her pillow. Her laptop appeared in front of her and after pressing several buttons, two other screens appeared. Both had what looked like blue sound waves, both looking about the same, though the left one was slightly larger. Over top of those were red waves, but they were going in completely different directions. The screen on the left, the red waves went up where the blue were going down. The screen on the right, the waves were completely erratic.

"The one on the left is yours," she said.

"Mine?"

"Alpha brainwaves. The other is Kiyoko-san's. The blue waves are the ones of you when I had tested the both of you those few days back. The red ones was when Tenchi and Kiyoko-san arrived, after you were thrown into the building. With you, it's like you had a entirely different person inside your head, but with Kiyoko-san…"

"What?" he asked quickly, nervousness hinting his voice.

"I don't know… I, Washu, the greatest scientific mind in the universe doesn't know!" she yelled in frustration. "They're too out of control. I can't make out what went on in her head. They became too dangerous at one point," she put a finger on the screen where the waves had gotten to their highest, "she could have died because of it. Then there were her wounds, they were severe both external and internal. She would have died from the wound given to her on her back and organs, seeing how the human recovery system is too slow. You might have noticed your wounds healing faster then normal." He nodded to confirm. Indeed, now his wounds were closed and were only a bright pink, showing little sign of any scarring left, though his ribs were still giving him grief. "I gave you some enzymes that increased your natural healing, but Kiyoko-san's body refused them. I realized that her blood was completely different from yours, a different race. So I tried different things, only to constantly fail, inching closer and closer to her death. I then used my science to solve not just her wounds but the brainwaves that plagued her, but I knew it had to come to a cost. The subconscious had to be in tune with the waves and the enzymes, so I decided to use the formula I used-"

"What does it all mean!?" he snapped impatiently.

Washu glared at him, annoyed that someone had the nerve to interrupt her in one of her speeches. She pointed at the tubes where Ryoko and Kiyoko remained motionless.

"I duplicated Ryoko's gems and implanted them then in her body. They control her brainwaves and she'll heal in a matter of days," she said in a monotone. "She'll get some of Ryoko's powers as a bonus."

"What kind of powers?"

"Flying, going through walls, the use of a energy sword, and teleportation."

Looking at Kiyoko again, Akira noticed the purple gems where Ryoko had her red ones.

"You'll see her tomorrow," Washu said, suddenly pushing him gently towards the door. "I won't let her walk around until she has had the chance to heal and adapt to the changes in her body, so she'll be in a wheelchair."

Looking back once, Akira didn't argue with the scientist. He smiled down at her when he finally reached the door.

"Thank you, Washu-chan, for saving her." With that, he bent down and hugged her before turning to go to his room, leaving a very red Washu.

The next day, as the sun began to raise into the sky, Akira ran down the stairs, two by two, trying to fight his shirt over his head. All night he was thinking about seeing Kiyoko. The last time he remembered seeing her was when she was getting ready for her date with Tenchi. That reminded him to ask her about that. He was between wanting her to be happy and wanted a reason to beat Tenchi's face in.

The sight he saw when he turned around the corner into the living room made his eyes widen in shock. Kiyoko was indeed in a wheelchair and had clearly been arguing with Ryoko, who was standing beside her. Without a word, Ryoko slapped Kiyoko's back, causing her to cry out in pain.

That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

While bending over, Kiyoko wasn't able to see Akira as he ran up to and appeared in front of Ryoko. She looked up, her right eye covered by her bang, but her left eye saw Akira pull back his fist and punch Ryoko in the face, dead center.

The force of the blow pushed her against the wall that separated the kitchen from the dinning area. When she pushed herself from the wall, a small hole was there where her shoulders crashed into it.

Walking to Kiyoko's side, he knelt down and moved her hair away from her eye and looked at her, worried. "Are you alright? She didn't hurt you too badly, did she?"

Shaking her head slightly, Kiyoko smiled softly at his worried state. "No, I should be fine in a while."

Ryoko stood up, glaring at Akira for a few seconds before she realized that… her nose was bleeding. Grabbing her nose, she flew towards Tenchi when she saw him come downstairs.

"Tenchi! Look what that nasty Akira did to me!" she cried out, putting a cloth to her still bleeding nose.

"Akira-san, what did you do?" Tenchi asked, looking at him.

"Don't look at me," Akira answered savagely, his anger at Ryoko finally released. "She's the one who hit Kiyoko-chan, and she's hurt enough as it is. She deserves much worse then what I gave her."

Tenchi turned and glared at Ryoko before walking to Kiyoko's other side and kneeling down on one knee. Akira glared at him, past Kiyoko and remembered their date.

"So, Tenchi-san, I'm sorry to have interrupted you date before," he said in a strained voice. Kiyoko glanced at him, recognizing that tone.

"It wasn't your fault," said Tenchi, not looking up at Akira. "We were nearly finished with our date, anyways."

"Nearly?" Akira repeated, a muscle in his jaw twitching. "What were you two doing at the time?" Before neither of them could say another word, they both backed away when it was Kiyoko that yelled out.

"Both you of just stop it!" Pulling away from the both of them, Kiyoko maneuvered the wheel chair with what seemed to be years of experience, and made her way to the kitchen. Both men stood up as they watched her leave and glared at each other. Knowing he was part to blame, Akira couldn't help but give the fault to Tenchi for making her upset.

Throughout the next four days, neither Tenchi nor Akira left Kiyoko's side, unless they were at the temple or in the carrot field to work. That was when all of their frustration was let loose. Yosho stayed at the sidelines as he watched the two boys go through three practice swords and two blades. This had helped both of them keep their tongue whenever they were around Kiyoko, who got upset, whenever they began arguing or when thy began pampering her too much. At which point they would around with each other outside of the room she'd be in and one of them would end up with a black eye.

On the days where he wouldn't be able to spend time with Kiyoko, Akira would make sure she was either with Sasami or Washu. Even after the punch in the nose, Ryoko kept a watchful eye on Kiyoko. Akira was even watching over her at times when she wasn't aware of it. That ended very badly.

When she was able to walk again, Kiyoko would take long walks in the woods by herself, or so she thought. Unknown to her, Akira was in the trees above her, following her in complete silence. One day Ryoko had teleported above Kiyoko while she was out on one of her walks. Above her was Akira, standing on two branches. Before she was able to strike, Akira kicked the back of her head with his heel. Unconscious, Ryoko fell to the ground behind Kiyoko. When she looked up, Akira attempted to jump into hiding in the surrounding trees, but his boot strings were caught by stray tree branches. Falling several feet, Akira landed tangled in thorny mix of branches. Floating off the ground Kiyoko looked at him, arms crossed and very serious looking.

"I'd say that's punishment enough for spying on me," she said before flying back to the house.

"Wait! Stop, Kiyoko-chan!" he yelled, trying to get out of the thorny mess he was in. "I wasn't spying on y-!" He dropped down and stopped at the middle of the tree, holding onto a thin branch with one hand. "Kiyoko-chan!" When she didn't turn around he gave a heavy sigh, breaking the branch he was hanging on. Needless to say, he had a sore back when he returned home. Feeling sorry for him, and slightly guilty, Kiyoko had given him a massage in their room, which unsettled Tenchi greatly.

Today, Akira was at the temple, Tenchi was at the house with Kiyoko, which annoyed him to no end. Though today he was not here for training. Yosho had requested his presence that day and the somber tone in his voice made it clear he couldn't be refused.

Standing in front of the temple, Akira looked around for the temple guardian to no avail. When he least expected it, he heard a voice from behind him.

"Good to see you here, Akira-san," Yosho said. Being quite used to this by now, Akira turned and returned the smile he received.

"You wished to see me about something?" he said with the same friendly tone the older man had used.

"Yes," he responded, his voice becoming grave. "I wanted to talk to you about your fight with Dr. Clay's robot."

"Oh," was all Akira said, his cheerful position fading.

"I cannot believe you let that thing damage your weapon!" he snapped. Not letting Akira get a word in, he continued. "Not only that, a woman was in danger and you weren't able to defend her!"

Akira's fists clenched at his sides. He wasn't able to remember the battle; still to this day, and he knew he had let Kiyoko down that day, but why did Yosho have to rub it in? And why did he have to wait days after the event happened?

"I thought about it and realized _you _were strong enough, but your _weapon _was not. And so I have went through the liberty of asking Washu to given me a blood sample of you and sent it to Jurai to fix the problem." Looking up at Yosho in confusion, Akira saw the old man smile at him and he extended his hand. In the middle of his palm was a sword hilt identical to Sword Tenchi except this one was pure black.

Akira's frustration and tension was released when he looked down at the weapon. Yosho placed it in Akira's hand and smiled at his surprised face.

"I nor anyone else can use it but you and your descendants, those with your blood. Will the blade to appear and it will," Yosho in the voice he first greeted him with. "This will help you protect the girl."

After a few seconds a red blade appeared from the hilt. "I will happen much quicker, of course, when you are in the heart of battle and it is needed," he explained. Too amazed for words, Akira was only able to move the sword in his hands, wondering if he was dreaming this. Yosho knew exactly how grateful he was from the smile on his face.

Akira looked up. The words of thanks on his lips, but was stopped when he heard a voice from outside. "Akira-kun! Akira-kun, where are you!?"

Looking once at Yosho Akira ran outside after receiving a smile from the older man. Watching the younger man run out, the smile never faltered. Hearing the two voices for a few moments before complete silence, his smile only grew. Yosho knew somehow that this would happen today and he knew he would miss them both. "Good-bye Akira, Kiyoko. You are always welcomed should you ever visit again."

Bursting through the front door, blade still out, Akira looked around to see no one on the temple grounds. Above him, upside down and sitting cross-legged, the voice he loved spoke up again.

"Akira-kun, it's time to go!" she said excitedly. He looked up at her, confused, the blade shrinking back into the hilt.

"What do you mean 'time to go'?" he asked.

"The door has been activated, we have to go to the next world _now_!" She swung around so she was sitting in the air in front of him.

"What!?" he exclaimed. "Let's go then." When he tried to go for the stairs, Kiyoko flew in front of him causing him to stop.

Extending her hand to him, she simply smiled. "This will be faster."

Not hesitating once, Akira took her hand in full trust and felt his body getting lighter. Looking back, he was able to get a last glimpse at the temple before he disappeared.

Back at the house Washu was pacing in front of the door she had placed beside her lab door. When she sent Kiyoko the light on the door was blinking on. Now it was a solid light and she wasn't sure how long it would last.

When she spun around Akira and Kiyoko appeared by the door. Akira looked around to see the two princesses seated on the couch, the younger one looking as if she was about to cry, and Tenchi leaning against the back of the couch.

"Finally!" shouted Washu. "Do you have everything you came with? Need anything quick before you go?" She asked the questions as she was pushing Kiyoko and Akira towards the door.

"Wait!" Tenchi spoke up. "I need to talk to Kiyoko-chan." Washu gave him a look before nodding once. "Just make it quick. They might not have much time."

Nodding in return, Tenchi pulled Kiyoko to the side and softly whispered to her. Watching intently, Akira gripped the sword hilt he placed at his waist when Kiyoko frowned and shook her head. Then he was surprised when she reached up and kissed Tenchi's cheek. Joining Akira again Kiyoko looked at Sasami when she heard a sob come from the girl.

"Don't be sad, Sasami-chan," she said softly. "Who knows, we may see each other again someday."

"I hope so," the little girl said, trying to sound happier.

After given the okay signal Washu opened the door, the room filling with a white glow. Taking Kiyoko's hand in his, Akira looked down at her and smile. Knowing she was with him, he was ready for anything. Taking one step in Kiyoko and Akira disappeared, but still was able to hear a small girl's voice, "Good-bye Kiyoko-chan, Akira-kun! We'll miss you!"


End file.
